1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for converting television program audio signals received via the airwaves for transmission via the airwaves to a nearby AM and/or FM receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention relates to apparatus for receiving and converting the sound portion of conventional commercial television signals received via the airwaves into signals suitable for transmission via the airwaves for reception by nearby conventional AM and/or FM radio signal receiving apparatus.
Television audio signal converters have heretofore been proposed, illustrative of which are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,303 which was granted to Johnson, Jr. et al. on Feb. 27, 1990 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,737 which was granted to Burdick S. Trask on May 3, 1977.
The earlier Trask patent discloses an apparatus which, when placed near a TV set, detects secondary radiation from the audio IF portion of the television, converts the detected signals to an FM radio signal, and transmits the FM signal for reception by a local radio.
A principle disadvantage of the Trask apparatus is the necessity that it be closely coupled to an operating TV receiver which greatly restricts the range of its usefulness and that in order to change the program that a user desires to listen to it is necessary to change the channel in the TV receiver.
The Johnson, Jr. et al. patent discloses a circuit for receiving an on-air TV signal, and converting the audio portion of the signal into an FM signal which is connected by any suitable connector to the antenna input terminals of a conventional FM receiver.
A principal disadvantage of the apparatus of Johnson, Jr. et al. is that it must be connected by a connector to the antenna terminals of an operable FM receiver thereby requiring special wiring, inconvenient antenna connections and the like. Such requirements necessarily limit the number and type of receivers with which the apparatus can be readily used and consequently significantly restrict the range of its usefulness. Furthermore, Johnson, Jr. et al. do not provide any user operable means for changing the frequency of the signal connectors to the antenna terminals of the FM receiver.